The Nairobi Hospital Accident and Emergency entrance.
In court on Monday, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions stepped out as the complainant whose report to police triggered the arrest of Dr Job Lukuru Obwaka, 80 years old, Dr Chris Bichange Nyamaratandi, lawyer Mr Samson Mbuthia Kinyanjui and Dr Valerie Akinyi Gaya.
They all denied charges and were released on Sh5 million bond.
Mr Kinyanjui said Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) officers who arrested the quartet on Saturday morning cited “orders from above” when they asked who had filed the complaint.
But at a rally in Bungoma, barely 24 hours after the four denied charges related to the protracted disputes at the Nairobi Hospital, President William Ruto, seemingly angered, owned up to the behind-the-scenes drama leading to the arrests and arraignments.
On Tuesday, Dr Obwaka and Mr Kinyanjui told the Nation that the hospital’s directors have no intention to resign, and will face the criminal charges while serving on the medical facility’s Board.
“I have not heard of any board member who is keen on resigning. Why would they resign? I was elected by the members of KHA. So unless the same group that elected me comes and tells me they are not happy with the way we are conducting ourselves or they are not happy with the way we are running things on their behalf, I have no business being pushed to resign," said Mr Kinyanjui, who is an advocate.
Dr Obwaka said that at the heart of the matter is a rogue management team overseeing a systematic looting of the 70-year-old hospital.
He paints a grim picture of a premier institution in freefall: equipment breaking down, drug supplies drying up, and major insurance companies threatening to withdraw due to billions in unpaid debts.
“Just because they have intimidated me, I will not leave. I'll still be a part of that board, whether they give us letters or not, and unless the AGM is conducted and concluded and the proper people are elected and put in place. I'm still there because we will have to prepare the ground for the AGM,” said Dr Obwaka.
Prof Herman Manyora, a fellow director in the reformist group, refused to comment on the matter, saying he does not want to be involved where the president is involved.
“I do not want to get in conflict with Ruto. He sounds very annoyed, and I don't want to get in conflict with him. On matters of Nairobi Hospital, I want to keep off. Let people say I'm a coward. I wouldn't want to be on a collision course with the President,” Prof Manyora said.
Dr Obwaka claimed that his prosecution is an attempt to arm-twist the octogenarian into withdrawing a civil case he filed at the High Court in Milimani.
Dr Ruto at the rally, and in a statement released later in the day, said that while wearing two hats – one as President and another as patron of the Kenya Hospital Association – the corporate body that runs Nairobi Hospital – received multiple complaints about infighting at the facility.
“As President and patron of Nairobi Hospital, serving doctors and professionals approached me to save the facility from conmen and fraudsters. I had to come in because this is a premier facility serving the region,” Dr Ruto said, while admitting that he ordered for the prosecution of individuals he claimed have committed various crimes at the medical facility.
The offices of the President and DPP did not respond to our queries on who the complainant is.
Dr Obwaka said the patron role largely entails “ceremonial duties” and does not warrant the Executive’s aggressive push.
“When you look at the charge sheet, normally any and every charge sheet has the name of the complainant, and the list of witnesses. Is it possible for you to have ODPP as a complainant? It is an office and its role is very simple. It’s to approve or disapprove charges against an accused person. That is after a complaint has been lodged to either police, or any investigative agency by a complainant who must have a name. If it is a company then it must be a director,” argued Mr Kinyanjui, who is an advocate.
Dr Chris Nyamaratandi (left) and Dr Job Obwaka at the Milimani Law Courts, where they were charged with mismanagement of Nairobi Hospital.
Senior Counsel Isaac Okero said in an interview that the listing of the ODPP as the complainant is an indication that authorities are bent on concealing the actual complainant.
“Dr Ruto explanation suggests that even before the Inspector-General of Police would have acted on the direction of the DPP, the patron of Nairobi Hospital had received complaints from certain Board members or stakeholders so the question then is, why are they not named in the charge sheet? And why is the DPP shielding them?” Mr Okero posed.
Mr Okero, a former Law Society of Kenya President, added that the Dr Ruto could have entered Executive overreach mode with some of his actions, backed by comments made in the Bungoma rally.
“If there is litigation on those issues, if he is coming in as President and purporting to use Presidential powers and acting as patron, it almost smacks of abuse of office. Whatever has been raised by members should be resolved using the laid-down structures,” Mr Okero added.
Mr Kinyanjui said that at the time of his arrest, the first document he presented to the officers was a valid court order for anticipatory bail granted to him last year.
“I was together with my eight-year-old son. We had to ride in a Subaru with my son all the way to Muthaiga because they were saying they needed to record further statements before I am released. I am a practicing lawyer; all they needed to tell me is to report to the police station to record a statement. Arresting me with my child was uncalled for,” says Kinyanjui.
The Nairobi Hospital.
"We thought we would just record statements. Nothing happened. On the first night, fingerprints were taken, then we spent the second night, then were brought to Milimani for plea taking on Monday," he added.
Obwaka was brought onto the board a year ago as part of a reformist slate negotiated with the head of public service, Felix Koskei. But he says the board’s balance was quickly tilted by "bribing out" two colleagues, turning a 7-7 split into a 9-5 majority for the old guard.
"Governance is the problem. Procurement is where the money goes. Trips to China, construction kickbacks, all at the detriment of the hospital. We got together as doctors because we are the stakeholders. We didn't want it to go down," he explains.
Nairobi Hospital board chairman Dr Job Obwaka (second left) at the Milimani Law Courts on March 16, 2026.
He explained that the issue of manipulation of the members’ register, which is a key concern that took senior doctors of the hospital to see Mr Koskei, Health CS Aden Duale and eventually the President’s office, is a serious matter for which the company secretary should be investigated.
He explained that registration of ordinary members is done individually, followed by vetting, payment of membership fee, and subsequent addition of names to the member register by the company secretary. He points to a bizarre en masse registration, where over 300 individuals were added to the member register, and a total of Sh5 million was paid as their membership fee. This, he says, went against the company constitution and did not allow for vetting.
He recalls a voter importation scheme during a 2024 AGM, where hundreds of people were ferried into the meeting hall by buses, forcing the doctors to stage a walkout.
“I've never seen that register. The register is supposed to be available for members to see from time to time, but we have never seen it. The company secretary is the central man in that matter because he's the one who's supposed to keep the records. He knows where the register is,” says Dr Obwaka.
“We made all efforts to try and get the register, and nothing came through, and now here we are. We are not in the register, and they are arranging for another AGM. If it's open, and people have rights to apply, and they have gone through the procedure, there is no problem. There was a time they said it (the register) was at DCI; another time we were told it was moved to the Attorney General's office, so we have no idea what is happening on that register. (2:59) But definitely we have evidence that somebody really tampered with that register. There’s a hidden agenda to ensure they have the 'right' people to vote in the next AGM,” added Dr Obwaka.
Dr Obwaka alleges he received threatening calls from the Office of the President and that of the Head of Public Service, urging him to withdraw a case he filed regarding the hospital's governance.
“I'm the one who was the lead complainant, and for a while, I was being followed and getting instructions from the office of the Head of Public service to withdraw the case. I refused to withdraw the case and got calls from the office of the president. They were issuing me with threats that something’s going to happen and that I better withdraw the case. I refused stubbornly. I think that's why they picked on me, just to teach me a lesson,” reveals Dr Obwaka.
“Being a health institution, we are supposed to be rendering the best quality of service in terms of patient care and treatment. In a situation where there is no proper governance, we do not have what we need; so, no supplies, no equipment, we are running out of drugs, and the insurance companies withdrew. As doctors, we went out of our way, we negotiated with the insurance companies, they came back, but now they are again threatening to leave,” he explains.
The main entrance at The Nairobi Hospital.
In his assessment of the crisis, Dr Obwaka emphasized that a credible path forward is impossible without a legitimate and verified membership register. Without this foundation, he argued, the institution cannot legally hold an Annual General Meeting (AGM) or seat a board with the necessary authority to enact reforms.
A critical component of this transition, according to the doctor, is the immediate removal of the current senior management. He insisted that top officials, including the CEO and the company secretary, must be sent on compulsory leave to create a level playing ground. This vacuum, he added, is necessary to conduct deep-reaching forensic and HR audits without interference.
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